INTRODUCTION

MUSIC: SUSPENSE

SOUND: DEEP, THROBBING RUMBLE SIMULATES A SPACE SHIP ENGINE

Stars approach, and slide off the sides of our screen, as we move toward a distant galaxy.

The tip of a giant monolith appears at the bottom of our frame, becoming larger as it moves up to occupy more and more of the screen.

As the monolith slowly rotates, it takes on the outline of the Roche logo – still traveling through the star field.

Suddenly, brilliant beams of pulsing laser light strike the monolith etching in the letters:

As the logo continues it's trip into the galaxy, the head and shoulders of our on-camera host are gradually revealed with the logo behind him.

Almost simultaneously, at the top of the logo, the galaxy dissolves into a shot of the Earth as it might appear from thousands of miles in space.

The movement toward Earth continues until our view is similar to that seen from a NASA shuttle. As this is happening, we also reveal more of our host until his entire body is seen.

The final visual effect is that of our host standing on the Roche "spaceship" as it continues its trip around the earth.

HOST (TO CAMERA)
We stand within a very special time-machine.

To create a window on the future, through which we can take a look at how research being done today ...

... may influence and effect Tomorrow's World.

For although the future may indeed hold moments of misery, madness and inhumanity ...

... let it be said about us, that our work...

... made a difference.

A WHIRLING VORTEX
appears behind our host

Our trip into Tomorrow's World begins.

ABOVE IS REPLACED
by cell division footage

Every moment we live, ten million cells divide within our bodies. Responding to rules and regulations we are only now beginning to comprehend.

But even as we stand in the shadows of our own uncertainty...

FUTURISTIC LAB ACTIVITY SHOTS

The dawn of molecular biotechnology may so illuminate our age...

... that many aspects of illness and disease, as we know them now, may simply cease to exist. Back to index

ONCOLOGY SEGMENT

THE WORD
O N C O L O G Y
ZOOMS UP OVER LAB SHOTS

A case in point. Oncology. The study and treatment of tumors. They can start in just one of the body's billions of cells.

SUN, OR SUNBATHING

Tiggered by sunlight,...

CONTAMINATED WASTE SYMBOL

... a toxic chemical,

VIRUS .

. . a virus,

RADIATION SYMBOL

... or radiation.

The body's immune system, normally alert to the presence of alien cells, fails to respond properly.

ACCELERATED CELL DIVISION

The invaders continue to proliferate, savagely. Forming a hungry mass that competes with normal tissue for nutrition.

Not content with local damage, the burgeoning tumor sends groups of malevolent messengers into the bloodstream.

Some perish on the trip. But others establish beachheads on healthy tissue. Dividing again and again and again.

The intestines ...

The lungs ...

The breasts ...

PHYSICIAN AT LIGHT-BOX WITH X-RAYS

Eventually, the marauding cells infiltrate, starve and destroy vital organs.

And the grim mathematics of this obscene pathology have become a statistical essay in pain and anguish.

There are one million new cancer cases every year in the United States, alone.

And despite progress in diagnosis and treatment ...

... 500 thousand will die.

HOSPITAL STUFF

For surgery often provides only transient relief ...

... and chemotherapy -- using toxic agents that can destroy healthy as well as cancerous tissue --.often fails against solid tumors.

ROCHE LAB SHOTS

But exceptionally promising work continues on the clinical studies of new drugs and combination therapies ...

... such as Interleukin-2 plus Roferon ...

... and Roferon A plus the cytotoxic agent 5-Flourouricil.

CLOSE-UP
HYPO AND VIAL OF METHOTREXATE, OR NURSE ADMINISTERING VIA I.V.

Compounds that can stop the reproduction of malignant cells ...

... and reinforce the body's natural immune system during chemotherapy. Back to index

OBESITY SEGMENT

THE WORD
O B E S I T Y
ZOOMS UP AND HOLDS
to be replaced by fat people shots

As we approach the 21st century, it must be acknowledged, reluctantly, that our Republic is suffering from middle-age spread.

EATING SHOTS

We the people, having formed a more corpulent union, are at least one billion pounds overweight.

PHYSICIAN/PATIENT EXAM

And our incidence of obesity, diabetes and elevated cholesterol is a serious medical problem. With surveys to indicate that nearly 50 million people -- one-fifth of our population -- are overweight.

STRESS TEST
to see overweight man on treadmill hooked up to respirometer, EKG, etc.

And, for most people, there are no drugs, diets or behavior modification programs that really work over the long term.

ROCHE RESEARCH SHOTS

But original Roche research may soon put us in a position to capture a major share of the weight control market with several extraordinary new drugs.

One that will prevent fat molecules from being absorbed as food passes through the intestines.

VARIATION ON ABOVE

And another is a thermogenic agent that will amplify calorie expenditure without special exercise.

We're also actively exploring new ways to reduce hunger with drugs that provide a feeling of fullness and appetite satisfaction.

ROCHE LOGO AND HOST
return along with trip-around-the-earth shuttle footage

Our goal for Tomorrow's World is to increase life span by eliminating obesity and its deadly contributions to diabetes and hypertension.
Back to index

DERMATOLOGY SEGMENT

THE WORD
D E R M A T O L O G Y
ZOOMS UP AND HOLDS
to be replaced by crowded city street shots

We all carry with us a marvelous mirror on which is reflected many of the trials and tribulations of our lives.

Our skin. The body's largest organ. A screen upon which is projected youth, age, health and disease.

And although our society offers an astonishing variety of skin care products, many have problems that traditional cosmetics simply cannot solve.

Acne ...

Psoriasis ...

Cutaneous inflammation...

... and sun damage can produce problems ranging from emotional distress, to cancer. And existing drugs are often inadequate and irritating.

Or, in the case of severe cystic acne, reserved for only for the most serious cases. Leaving the estimated six million who suffer from mild to moderate acne without effective treatments. And few pharmaceutical firms are better positioned than Roche to take advantage of the market openings these therapeutic deficiencies are unable to fill.

No one knows more about the use of retinoids for treating acne, psoriasis and sun damaged skin. And we're putting this experience to work developing topical preparations that will be true anti-wrinkle compounds without the irritation and inflammation caused by preparations such as Retin-A. Back to index

CLOSING ELEMENT: Irwin Lerner, Roche CEO

Mr. Lerner, seated at his desk, as trip-around-the-earth shuttle footage continues behind him. As Mr. Lerner finishes, the edge of his desk becomes the edge of the monolith used in our opening, expanding to replace him. Our final special effects will again see our monolith rotate to reveal the Roche logo.

"You've just seen some very unique and original research areas that hold great promise for extending our worldwide reputation for health-care innovation and concern well into the 21st century.

"And, however you define Tomorrow's World – five, ten or twenty years – it's going to be cellular biology, at the molecular level, that holds the key to not just treating many serious diseases...but giving the body's own defense systems the means to eliminate them before they start. Incredible? Yes. Impossible? No. We're doing it already.

"And each of these research areas represents a delicate balance -- a balance between society's major health needs as we perceive them on one hand...

"...and our own needs as a company on the other. Obviously, we must continue generating revenues adequate to underwrite the research that makes all this possible. We're already investing about two million dollars a day in worldwide research and development. Try multiplying two million times 365 and I can promise you an interesting number.

"As research becomes more expensive and complex, Tomorrow's World will also place some very special demands on marketing and sales.

"We've already had plenty of indicators – early warning signs – to tell us that tomorrow's pharmaceutical world is also going to be a cost containment world. Requiring drugs that have a lot more to offer than "modest improvements." New is going to have to mean NEW. Not line extensions, not me-too compounds, and not squeezing an extra buck out of a off-patent products.

"With our pioneering position in benzodiazepines, retinoids and anti-bacterials to build on, we're going to be introducing products with very real and significant differences that can meet unfilled medical needs.

"And while the one-on-one sales rep physician visit will be with us for a long time to come, we already know how federal health policies and HMO's are altering traditional selling situations; and we'll be adjusting and adpating acordingly.

"When it comes to Roche Laboratories, and our position in Tomorrow's World, you can believe me when I say your work will, indeed, make a difference."
Back to index

Additional segments in this script covered Roche research into:

• The Central Nervous System
• Anti-Inffectives and Anti-Virals
• Anti-Inflammatories
• Cardiovascular